I have repainted a few trucks in the past, and finished a lot of woodwork, so am familiar with spraying, but have some questions about sprucing up my 91 toy pickup. The sheen is gone, and the front fenders need replaced, so would have to repaint those, but otherwise the truck looks fairly good, just the sheen is gone, and washing doesn't clean up easy like a new car. My wife's 05 grand am is just a breeze to wash.
Wondered if I could go over the main part of the truck to touch up, and then coat the truck with clear cote? The only paints I have used on trucks were enamel, and used hardner on the last couple. The hardner mixed with enamel is awesome, enamel alone is just ok. Never used the new paints with clear cote, but would that work to slick up an old finish?

 

The paint's going to peel off within a year or two if you don't sand down the whole truck and prep it properly.

It'll look great until then though!

I think its a waste of time to paint a vehicle if you don't prep it properly, even if you're just rolling on some basic paint for an off-road truck.

 

Agreed. Not to mention how hard it is to color match 20 year old paint.

Do a search on roll on paint. Sounds super redneck, but turns out better than most paint jobs i have seen. Cheap too.

 

I second the roll on! you can cut and buff that stuff down and that sucker will shine so bright it'll blind diamonds

 

take your time sanding and taping things off, and itll come out like a pro. I plan to do this someday.

 

Prepping is a PITA but have to agree, its the only way to go.

i have been prepping mine for about 3 weeks ago now. started with a palm sander but then found this stuff that works magic when taking off existing paint

i am shooting for a matte, satin, flat finish...do you think the roll on paint is good for that as well or only for shiny finish?

 

You'll definitely get a matte finish look with a roller job, because you won't use a clear coat like the factory paint uses. It'll look more like a 1950's paint job from back in the days before clear coats. But if you wanna take the time, you can buff it out until it's damn near as shiny as a clear coat.

I did a Rustolueum roller job on my truck about 18 months ago. Gloss White. I would echo the comments about the importance of good prep work and giving the new paint something to "hold on to" when you apply it.

I did a decent job of roughing up the old paint on mine, and sanding completely away places where the existing paint was oxidizing and would not provide a stable foundation for the new paint.

There is small one spot above the side view mirror I forgot to rough up, and the paint is just now peeling off, after 18 months. The rest looks excellent though.

One complaint I have is that stuff like bugs and tree sap soak right into the paint, since there's no clear coat to protect your paint. I had quite a few tree sap and honey bee stains stains I had to literally bleach out with bleach, to get rid of the stains left behind. I've heard that certain types of red mud will do the same thing.

I don't know if this is something unique to Rustoleum paint, but it's something to be aware of. S you may want to look into using a better quality paint, like Brightside boat paint, especially if you go with a light color. I may buy some Brightside paint in the same color as the Rustoleum to paint over it, just so I can have a more durable, stain-resistant finish on my paint.

I would also add that using a roller is very time-consuming, what with all the wet sanding. But it's still the cheapest way to go, if that matters.

 

Has anybody tried just sanding with 400 and putting clear cote over the old paint?

 

I have with 600. Didn't turn out great, but not too bad. I only did because I had to fix the rust around the windshield before the glass guys would replace my windshield. i have been considering that Duplicolor Paint Shop product for a couple old cars I have though. Have seen decent results done with that in pictures. Would like to see it first hand though.